Feed for poultry

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a feed for poultry for increasing the egg weight in the early period of egg-laying by laying hens and preventing the decline of egg weight in the summer season. 
     Feed containing soybean germs or defatted soybean germs is given (to the hens).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a feed for poultry. More particularly,the present invention relates to a feed for poultry blended with soybeangerms or defatted soybean germs.

BACKGROUND ART

Hen's eggs are classified according to their weight under the MAFF(Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries) Standards, andgenerally eggs in M size and L size of the Standards are traded at highprices. In the case of the eggs obtained in the early period ofegg-laying, the percentage of the eggs which are less than M size ishigh. The egg weight increases with aging and the M size and L size eggsbegin to be yielded, but the egg producers wish strongly to produceprofitable size eggs from the early period of egg-laying for raisingprofit. Hitherto, the egg weight in the early period of egg-laying hasbeen dependent on the fowl species and the body weight of the hen whenit reached adulthood, and in the matter of improvement of feed, it hasbeen generally tried to add methionine or fats/oils, but the effectthereof has been unsatisfactory. It has been reported that the eggweight could be increased by giving feed containing the whole soybeanprocessed by an expander or an extruder (JP-A-10-229829). However, suchprocessed soybean is expensive, and a more efficient technique forincreasing the egg weight has been required for practical application.

Further, it is known that the feed intake by fowls reduces with aconsequent decrease of egg weight during the period of severe heat inthe summer season. This decrease of egg weight leads to a reduction ofthe percentage of the M size or L size eggs that can be marketedadvantageously and a reduction of the gross weight of produced eggs. Asfor the technique for preventing the decrease of egg weight in thesummer season, the addition system of methionine or fats and oils hasbeen employed, but its effect is unsatisfactory.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a feed for poultry forincreasing the egg weight in the early period of egg-laying andpreventing the decrease of egg weight in the summer season.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention offers a feedcontaining soybean germs or defatted soybean germs in an amount ofpreferably 1.0 to 30% by weight. Generally, soybean contains about 2% ofgerms. The soybean germs used in the present invention are thoseextracted from the soybeans and containing 30% or more of germ essence.Such soybean germs may be either defatted germs, i.e. the germs fromwhich the oil portion has been expressed out, or non-defatted germs. Forinstance, such germs can be obtained by heating the soybeans to bringthem into a half-split state, then de-shelling the beans, sifting themand recovering the shell portions carrying the germs.

EXAMPLES

The effect of increasing the egg weight in the early period ofegg-laying by giving the feed of the present invention is shown below.

Example 1

Feeds for poultry of the formulations shown in Table 1 were prepared,and they were given to the groups of 203-day-old laying hens (whiteleghorns), each group consisting of 90 hens, for a period of 8 weeks.

TABLE 1 Test feed formulations (unit: wt. %) Component Control ControlControl Invention materials group 1 group 2 group 3 group Cereals 64.4 64.4  64.4  64.4  Vegetable 15.0  15.0  15.0  15.0  oil cakes Animal 7.57.5 7.5 7.5 feed Fats and 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 oils Other 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1materials Soybean 3.0 — — — cakes Wheat — 3.0 — — germs Rice germs — —3.0 — Defatted — — — 3.0 soybean germs (Note) Vegetable oil cakes don'tinclude soybean cakes.

The test results are shown in Tables 2 and 3. In the Invention groupwhere feed containing defatted soybean germs was used, the egg weightchanged greater than in any of the Control groups 1 to 3, with theaverage egg weight in the test period being increased by 0.6 g, 1.0 gand 1.0 g, respectively, over the Control groups 1 to 3. From this, itis found that a greater effect of promoting the increase of egg weightis provided by giving the feed containing defatted soybean germs thanwhen the feeds containing soybean cakes, wheat germs and rice germs aregiven. A good result of egg laying was obtained in each group, but inthe Invention group, the daily laid egg weight rose with the increase ofthe average egg weight, and the feed demand was also the highest.

TABLE 2 Shift of average egg weight (unit: ratio (%) to the average eggweight of the first week) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th week week weekweek week week week week Control 100.0 100.8 101.7 102.3 102.3 102.7102.8 103.3 group 1 Control 100.0 100.8 101.3 101.8 101.7 102.3 101.8102.7 group 2 Control 100.0 100.5 101.2 101.7 102.3 101.8 102.3 103.0group 3 Invention 100.0 101.7 102.2 102.7 103.2 103.8 104.5 105.6 group

TABLE 3 Egg laying performance in test period Egg Average Daily Feedlaying egg laid egg intake rate weight weight (g/hen/ Feed (%) (g) (g)day) demand Control 94.3 61.1 57.6 110.2 1.91 group 1 Control 93.8 60.756.9 111.0 1.95 group 2 Control 93.7 60.7 56.9 110.7 1.95 group 3Invention 95.0 61.7 58.6 110.1 1.88 group

Example 2

Feeds for poultry of the formulations shown in Table 4 were prepared andgiven to the groups of 120-day-old laying hens (white leghorns), eachgroup consisting of 90 hens, for a period of 8 weeks.

TABLE 4 Test feed formulations (unit: wt. %) Inven- Inven- Inven- Inven-Inven- tion tion tion tion tion Raw Control group group group groupgroup materials group 1 2 3 4 5 Cereals 59.4  59.4  59.4  59.4  59.4 59.4  Chaff and 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 bran Vegetable 11.7  11.7  11.7 11.7  11.7  11.7  oil cakes Animal 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 feed Fats and1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 oils Other 9.4 9.4 9.4 9.4 9.4 9.4 materialsSoybean 10.0  8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 cakes Defatted 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.010.0  soybean germs (Note) Vegetable oil cakes don't include soybeancakes

The test results are shown in Tables 5 and 6. It is seen that the eggweight elevates as the amount of defatted soybean germs blended isincreased. A good result of egg laying was obtained in each group, butin the Invention group, the daily laid egg weight ascended with theincrease of average egg weight, and the feed demand was also thehighest.

TABLE 5 Shift of average egg weight (unit: ratio (%) to the average eggweight of the first week) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th week week weekweek week week week week Control 100.0 107.9 114.4 123.8 129.5 133.0135.2 138.5 group Invention 100.0 108.7 118.4 123.6 130.0 134.0 137.0139.2 group 1 Invention 100.0 111.7 118.4 125.6 131.0 135.7 138.2 141.7group 2 Invention 100.0 112.4 118.9 126.3 132.0 136.5 139.2 142.7 group3 Invention 100.0 112.7 119.4 127.8 132.8 138.0 140.7 143.9 group 4Invention 100.0 112.7 119.6 128.5 133.7 138.2 140.9 144.9 group 5

TABLE 6 Egg laying performance in test period Egg Average Daily Feedlaying egg egg intake rate weight output (g/hen/ Feed (%) (g) (g) day)demand Control 72.5 51.6 37.4  99.4 2.66 group Invention 72.9 52.0 38.0100.1 2.64 group 1 Invention 72.9 52.7 38.5 102.2 2.66 group 2 Invention78.1 53.1 38.8 101.0 2.60 group 3 Invention 72.8 53.5 39.0 101.6 2.61group 4 Invention 72.7 53.7 39.1 100.9 2.58 group 5

Example 3

Feeds of the formulations shown in Table 7 were prepared and given tothe groups of 212-day-old laying hens (white leghorns), each groupconsisting of 120 hens, for a period of 12 weeks in the summer season(June to September).

TABLE 7 Test feed formulations (unit: wt. %) Control Invention Rawmaterials group group Cereals 60.7  61.9  Chaff and bran 3.0 2.0Vegetable oil 8.8 6.1 cakes Animal feed 6.0 6.0 Fats and oils 2.0 1.5Other 9.5 9.5 materials Soybean cakes 10.0  10.0  Defatted 0.0 3.0soybean germs (Note) Vegetable oil cakes don't include soybean cakes.

The results are shown in Tables 8 and 9. In the Control group, the eggweight decreased with the rise of average atmospheric temperature. Inthe 8th week when the greatest decrease of egg weight was observed, theaverage egg weight dropped 5.1% from that at the start of the test. Inthe Invention group, however, the drop of egg weight was limited to 0.9%even in the 7th week when the decrease of egg weight was greatest.Regarding the egg laying performance in the test period, the Inventiongroup excelled the Control by 4.3% in egg laying rate, 1.5 g in averageegg weight and 3.8 g in daily yield of eggs. Thus, it was possible tosuppress the decrease of egg weight as well as the drop of egg yield dueto the rise of atmospheric temperature in the summer season by givingfeed containing defatted soybean germs.

TABLE 8 Shift of average egg weight (unit: ratio (%) to the average eggweight of the first week) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th12th week week week week week week week week week week1 week weekControl 100.0 99.7 98.8 99.0 99.3 97.8 95.7 94.9 95.9 96.3 98.6 97.4group Invention 100.0 100.5 100.9 101.0 101.2 100.7 99.1 99.7 100.2100.5 102.0 101.2 group Average 20.3 22.5 23.5 26.2 28.6 29.2 28.6 28.728.7 28.0 27.3 26.5 temperature henhouse

TABLE 9 Egg-laying performance in test period Egg Average Daily Feedlaying egg egg intake rate weight output (g/hen/ Feed (%) (g) (g) day)demand Control 86.4 57.6 49.8 95.5 1.92 group Invention 90.8 59.0 53.698.9 1.85 group

Example 4

Feeds for poultry of the formulations shown in Table 10 were preparedand given to the groups of 126-day-old laying hens (white leghorns),each group consisting of 400 hens, for a period of eight weeks.

TABLE 10 Test feed formulations (unit: wt. %) Control InventionInvention Raw materials group group 1 group 2 Cereals 60.7  61.6  61.9 Chaff and bran 3.0 2.0 1.5 Vegetable oil 8.8 7.2 5.5 cakes Animal feed6.0 6.0 6.0 Fats and oils 2.0 1.7 1.6 Other 9.5 9.5 9.5 materialsSoybean cakes 10.0  10.0  10.0  Defatted 0.0 2.0 4.0 soybean germs(Note) Vegetable oil cakes do not include soybean cakes and defattedsoybean germs.

The test results are shown in Tables 11 and 12. It was noted that in theInvention groups the egg weight increased greater than in the Controlgroup after start of giving feed. The difference in egg weight in theperiod of 8 weeks after start of the test was greater by 3.3% in theInvention group 1 and 9.1% in the Invention group 2 than in the Controlgroup. It was found that the egg weight increased with the increase ofthe amount of defatted soybean germs blended. A good result of egglaying was obtained in each group, with no difference being observed inegg laying rate and feed demand between the test groups.

TABLE 11 Shift of average egg weight (unit: ratio (%) to the average eggweight of the first week) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th week week weekweek week week week week Control 100.0 108.7 117.1 122.7 127.1 130.9133.8 137.0 group Invention 100.0 100.0 118.2 124.5 129.4 133.5 136.9140.3 group Invention 100.0 111.7 121.9 129.9 133.9 137.7 141.4 146.9group

TABLE 12 Egg-laying performance in test period Egg Average Daily Feedlaying egg laid egg intake rate weight weight (g/hen/ Feed (%) (g) (g)day) demand Control 75.1 52.9 39.7 95.9 2.41 group Invention 75.2 53.640.1 96.2 2.40 group 1 Invention 75.5 54.0 40.8 96.5 2.36 group 2

The ratios of the respective sizes (MAFF Standards) of eggs laid duringthe test period are as shown in Table 13. The ratios of M and L sizes,which are advantageous in selling price, increased 39% and 100%,respectively, in the Invention group 1 and 45% and 240%, respectively,in the Invention group 2 in comparison with the Control group. Theresult of a tentative calculation of the gainings in the 8-week testperiod based on the above findings is shown in Table 14. It was foundthat the selling price of the eggs produced by hens increased 8.7 yenper hen in the Invention group 1 and 20.6 yen per hen in the Inventiongroup 2 in comparison with the Control group, and a substantial increaseof earnings could be expected in large-scale poultry farming.

TABLE 13 Ratio of each size (ratio to Control group, %) of eggs yieldedin test period Larger than Smaller LL LL L M MS S SS than SS Control100  100 100 100 100  100  100  100 group Invention 75 100 200 133 94 9087 100 group 1 Invention group 2 90 122 340 145 90 82 76  88 (Note) LL:70-76 g, L: 64-70 g, M; 58-64 g, MS: 52-58 g, S: 46-52 g, SS: 40-46 g

TABLE 14 Tentative calculation of gainings in test period (8 weeks)Difference in selling price from Selling price control group (yen/hen)(yen/hen) Control 328.4 — group Invention 337.1  8.7 group 1 Invention349.0 20.6 group 2 (Note) Basis for calculation From the average pricesin Tokyo in 1998, investigated by ZEN-NOH (LL: 162 yen/kg; L: 172yen/kg; M: 169 yen/kg; MS: 155 yen/kg; S: 147 yen/kg; SS: 94 yen/kg; theprices of eggs greater than LL or smaller than SS are not included inthe selling prices).

What is claimed is:
 1. A feed for poultry containing soybean germs ordefatted soybean germs in a poultry feed.
 2. A feed for poultryaccording to claim 1 wherein the soybean germs or defatted soybean germsare blended in an amount of 1% to 30% by weight.